Stop Cash Shrink

Nicole “Nikki” Fried is a lawyer and medicinal marijuana lobbyist who has had a tough time dealing with traditional banks due to their reluctance to do business with the state-sanctioned marijuana trade, because its potential conflict with federal anti-money-laundering regulations. While running in last month’s primary, Fried had her campaign account terminated by Wells Fargo.

A second bank has terminated the campaign account of Nikki Fried, a pro-medical marijuana Democrat who is running to become Florida’s agriculture commissioner. Fried said the bank, BB&T of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, took the step because of her support for MMJ. The move highlights the banking industry’s reluctance to work with marijuana businesses and even

Where the big banks say no, Justin Costello is saying ‘yes.’ Foreseeing “a multibillion-dollar industry here,” the head of Seattle-based GRN Funds says his firm has come to Florida to offer banking services to the state’s medical marijuana providers. It already handles about $500 million in deposits for clients in the cannabis industry on the

Last summer, First Green Bank of Orlando made a splash when it announced it was collecting cash on behalf of most of Florida’s medical marijuana dispensaries. Then, a few months later, First Green quietly stopped handling pot shops’ cash. The reason for the about-face was a mystery — until Seacoast Banking Corp. of Stuart announced

In a move that underscores the volatility of the state’s nascent market, First Green has announced that it is closing the accounts of its cannabis clients and won’t be handling their money past early January. Initially, the announcement — which comes just a few months after the Central Florida community bank celebrated being the first